William sees Prince Andrew as a ‘threat’ to the royal family

Police in London have spoken Prince Andrew’s rape accuser as a source reveals: ‘William is no fan of Uncle Andrew’.

Britain's Prince William and Prince Andrew pictured together in 2017. Picture: AFP

Police in London have spoken to the woman who claims she was raped and sexually assaulted by Prince Andrew on three occasions when she was 17.

Officers are understood to have contacted Virginia Giuffre about her allegations after Cressida Dick, London’s Metropolitan Police commissioner, said in August that “no one is above the law”.

The development could pave the way for the police to open a criminal investigation of Giuffre’s claims, which Prince Andrew has always strenuously denied.

Prince William believes Andrew presents a reputational “threat” to the royal family. Picture: Getty

Giuffre, 38, who is also known as Virginia Roberts, has alleged that on one occasion in March 2001 she was trafficked to London from America by the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and forced to have sex with Andrew at the Belgravia home of Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite. Maxwell denies the claims.

It can also be revealed on Sunday that Prince William believes Andrew presents a reputational “threat” to the royal family and shares the view of his father, Prince Charles, that Andrew should never be allowed to return to public life. “William is no fan of Uncle Andrew,” a friend said.

Giuffre’s allegations against the prince have been examined by the police on at least two previous occasions since 2015. However, the force failed to open a full investigation each time, saying the case was a matter for the US authorities.

The decision to approach Giuffre now comes after she filed a civil lawsuit against Andrew in New York in August. It accuses the prince of “rape in the first degree” and alleges that he abused Giuffre for the first time at Maxwell’s home in London after a visit to Tramp nightclub in Mayfair.

He says he has “no recollection” of ever meeting her.

Giuffre also claims that she was made to have sex with Andrew at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse and on Little St James, his private island in the Caribbean, later in 2001.

Days after the lawsuit was filed, Dick announced that the police would consider the allegations again. “As a result of what’s going on, I’ve asked my team to have another look at the material,” she said. “No one is above the law.”

On Saturday night it remained unclear whether the police had taken a formal statement from Giuffre, who now lives in Australia. “We would not confirm who we may or may not have spoken to,” the force said in a statement.

However, Giuffre’s US lawyer, Sigrid McCawley, a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner, urged the police to take further action. “Given

the clear and compelling evidence implicating Prince Andrew, the Metropolitan police should reopen its investigation and stand by their statement that no one is above the law.”

The Duke’s lawyers are seeking to have Giuffre’s lawsuit thrown out of court, but have pledged to “robustly” challenge the allegations on a point-by-point basis should the case go ahead.

Britain's Prince Andrew, Duke of York. Picture: AFP

Andrew, 61, withdrew from royal duties in 2019 after a disastrous interview with the BBC’s Newsnight in which he spoke about his friendship with Epstein and failed to express any sympathy for the paedophile’s victims.

The Prince was also widely mocked for claiming that he could not have met Giuffre on one of the days she claims because he was at a branch of Pizza Express in Woking, a small town outside of London.

Epstein, 66, killed himself in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial for multiple child sex charges. His former girlfriend, Maxwell, 59, is due to go on trial in New York next month on child sex trafficking charges, which she denies.

Prince Charles, 72, is understood to have been furious at claims from sources close to Andrew last year that the duke had the royal family’s support for a return to public life.

Royal aides have clarified that while Charles “loves his brother”, he believes any future role is “demonstrably not possible” because of the “unwelcome reputational damage to the institution” caused by Andrew’s friendship with Epstein and Giuffre’s allegations.

William, 39, who was involved in discussions with Queen Elizabeth and his father over the decision to remove Andrew from official duties, is believed to agree that the change in status should be permanent.

A source close to William said one of the “triggers” that “really gets him” about Andrew is his uncle’s perceived “ungracious and ungrateful” attitude towards his position as a royal, which William considers “a risk” and “threat to the family”.

Another royal source said of Andrew: “There is no way in the world he’s ever coming back - the family will never let it happen.”

Courtiers, members of the royal household and military sources have spoken about their experiences of working with Andrew.

A former royal aide said: “He’s a deeply unpleasant man. The difference you see between him and the way Prince William and the Prince of Wales treat their staff with respect - straight out of the Queen’s handbook - is stark.”

A former member of the household described a near-miss with the duke’s car on the forecourt of Buckingham Palace: “Andrew’s Aston Martin shot through the front gates and we were forced to make an abrupt halt to avoid colliding with him as he shouted, ‘Get out of my way’.”

The Sunday Times